Most articles on fitness and exercise for seniors are listicles of suggestions to get out more, go on a walk, play pickleball, take a yoga class, etc.
But let’s get serious:
The average 70-year-old in the US is more than a little overweight, insulin resistant, hypertensive, and at risk for heart disease, stroke, and cancer. S/he has a hard time finding the right words and has lost a lot of memory. These people are at risk from falls, fractures, stroke, heart attacks, and car accidents. Half of all falls after 80 lead to death within five years.
Your last three decades of life depend on how fit and resilient you are. Golf and sailing aren’t going to cut it. There’s no pill you can take to ward off heart attacks, cancer, neurodegenerative disease (Alzheimer’s), osteoporosis, and diabetes. In fact, more pills are the problem, not the solution.
A friend of mine is 70. He runs ultramarathon races, up to 100 miles in 24 hours. Yes, he’s fit, but he’s also an extreme fracture risk. Why? Because he weighs 140 pounds and only runs. He’s not a fall risk, but if he does fall, his wrist, hip, and spine are demineralized.
If you want to extend your healthy years significantly, I believe you should make all the drugs you need right in your own body by becoming a crossfit weight-training athlete addressing all the failure points that can take you down later.
Choose your final three decades:
This isn’t going to be for everyone, but if you want to be truly vibrant and vital into your 80s and 90s, you need to start now. I recommend everyone read this book, Outlive, by Peter Attia:
What really works
This book shows that the biggest predictors of a long, healthy life are grip strength, toe strength, overall lean muscle mass, the ability to carry heavy weights, the amount of time you spend in “zone 2” exercise, and VO2 max (a measure of peak performance). The goal is not to spend your last decade in the healthcare system. The goal is to live a long, vigorous life and then die quickly without suffering too much.
I’ve had four heart procedures and still have an irregular heartbeat because of all the endurance exercise I did in my 40s. I had a full stroke at age 63. Because of these things, I have turned my fitness hobby into an obsession.
If you’re more than 20 pounds overweight, if you spend more time and money on dental implants than on fitness, you are heading for a very expensive and uncomfortable final decade of life. I have a website dedicated to helping you thrive in your 60s and far beyond. Join me in your journey to becoming a cross-fit superstar and staying out of the healthcare system. Come on – let’s do this!
Email: david@dsiegel.com
